Decisions Made
by lakariana
Summary: Longish one shot. Gibbs' team are trapped in a dangerous house. Will they make it out alive?  warning-character death


Authors note: This one didn't quite end up where I thought it would. I hope you all like it and figure out the time jumps. Please review and let me know. No flames though please, I don't have a beta. I have a few other NCIS ideas running around in my head. They're not quite as dark as this one either!

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or any of the characters, I'm just borrowing them. Also, the lyrics are taken from House of Fun by Madness (one of the greatest bands ever)

Decisions Made

Gibbs sat on the loading platform of the ambulance and stared up at the sky, trying to avoid the chaos and devastation that surrounded him. The rolling dark grey clouds offered him little peace however, sometimes he really missed Mexico.

"You're all done Agent Gibbs." The paramedic's voice brought his head back down and his eyes immediately returned to the people running backwards and forwards between the emergency vehicles around them. They all looked so serious, shouting orders at each other, carrying equipment, looking for evidence or whatever they felt was important.

"Agent Gibbs?" The paramedic tried again, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder to get his attention. "I am so sorry sir, but I have other people I need to attend to. You could sit here in the van for a while if you like. I'll take my kit and shut the doors"

Gibbs turned and looked at him for the first time. He looked young, not much more than twenty five years old he'd guess, messy dark brown hair, puppy fat still in his cheeks and large eyes full of empathy. Gibbs couldn't stand to look him.

"No," He said firmly, pushing himself to his feet "I need to get my team back home." He walked away without looking back and tried to ignore the pain that flared in his muscles with every step.

It had started with an early morning wake up call. The cybercrimes unit had traced a counterfeiting and extortion network to a house in some middle-of-nowhere town outside DC, apparently these bad guys had fully embraced the modern age and the unit had traced all kinds of communications and transactions passing through this location. In all honestly Gibbs had stopped listening about half way through the briefing and McGee had had to explain it twice, using short words, in the car ride to the site.

It was supposed be a quick take down, recon of the property had revealed that only one guy had ever been seen in the vicinity, most likely there was a set of servers and a main computer hub with a technician to keep everything running properly. Tony had constantly interrupted, cracking jokes about unsociable nerdy geeks who couldn't talk to girls.

When they arrived the house had been dark and quiet. Tony and Ziva had taken the back. McGee, weighed down with his computer gear, had hung back behind Gibbs. It was supposed to be a quick take down, one lonely geek and a bunch of computers for McGee to play with.

One foot into the front door, Gibbs heard the beep, felt McGee grab the back of his jacket and felt the heat as the explosion flared in front of him. It had only been a small charge and Gibbs' pride had been the worst thing injured. The blast at the back of the house had been substantially larger.

Desperately trying to raise Tony and Ziva on the comms, Gibbs had run around the house while McGee called in for bomb disposal, sniffer dogs and local police officers. He was met with a mound of rubble and Tim had hastily added EMTs and rescue services to the growing list.

Just as Gibbs threw himself at the pile to start shifting the rocks with his bare hands, Tony's voice had spluttered over the comms. He and Ziva had made it into a kitchen and the explosion had trapped them between a large kitchen table and the outer wall. Other than nasty bruises and being entirely too close together for Ziva's comfort they were OK. Gibbs wanted to keep digging them out but McGee had warned against destabilising the rubble and further booby traps.

So they waited for the rescue crews.

Frustration boiling inside of him, Gibbs had immediately started barking orders at the arriving officers and agents. Ignoring McGee's protests they had both re-entered the house with the dog and bomb teams. Clearing each room had been painfully slow, but they made progress. Finally they came across the server room they had come to find. However the instant McGee had connected his laptop it had triggered another alarm and the door to the room had snapped shut leaving Tim alone on one side of an armoured metal door.

Gibbs was sat in the communications van listening to the latest sit-reps and reports from the various teams in charge of rescuing his agents. What a mess. There had been no sign of their suspect and Gibbs was resigned to the likely possibility he had used the initial explosions as a distraction to escape.

Suddenly loud music started playing across the site. Gibbs didn't recognised it but he could hear the words clearly enough.

_Welcome to the house of fun!_

_Now you've come of age._

_Welcome to the lion's den!_

A panicked bomb squad officer came over the comms apologising profusely, he had set off some kind of trigger while disarming one of the explosives. Gibbs just shook his head, trying to keep a grip on his rapidly building temper.

Before he had to respond to this latest event however, the inappropriately cheerful song was cut short as suddenly as it had started.

"This guy's got some sense of humour, eh Boss?" Tim's voice sounded from behind him. Gibbs whipped his head round but was only met by the bank of monitors inside the van.

"What the hell? Where are you McGee?" He barked.

"Oh sorry boss," McGee's voice floated around the van, "hang on a second... I think I've got it."

As if by a ghostly hand, the monitors in front of Gibbs flickered into life one by one, each one showing a different grainy picture of a part of the house. In the one two along from the bottom right sat a familiar figure with a laptop on his lap waving at the screen.

"See me now boss?" McGee's asked.

"Yeah McGee." Gibbs squinted at the image of his agent trying to assess his status. "Are you using the criminal's computer to hack our communications?"

The man on the screen cringed a little "Technically it's my computer...and er...their server. But it's safe, I isolated it before I started I promise."

Gibbs sighed, Tim must have heard it because he continued in a hurry. "I've got a patch into his security system, I can feed into the speakers and route his cameras to our communication van and I think stop a few of the computer controlled booby traps. He's really got a system here boss. It's huge and pretty intricate. The only thing I can think is that with all his time here on his own he just kept adding to it and building it into this monster fun house..." McGee finally seemed to run out of breath and his voiced faded out. Through his rambling Gibbs had sat quietly and listened, allowing a small measure of hope and relief to fill him.

"You having fun McGee?" Gibbs asked and then winced as McGee cringed again, he had meant it as a joke. "Are you injured?" He asked trying to convey his true feeling in his tone.

"No Boss, I'm fine. Just stuck in a small concrete box. I'm probably the safest man here." The words came out in a rush before McGee's voice faded again. "Someone is trying to get me out though, right?" He added quietly.

"They're waiting for the right cutting gear for that door. I've sent them round to Tony and Ziva while they are waiting."

"They're not out yet? Are they OK?"

"Apparently the rubble means they have to work slowly. We need to get them out as a priority." The image of McGee nodded but his face was turned down so Gibbs couldn't see it. Something in Gibbs' gut stirred but he passed it off as lingering stress. "If you can contact me, can you contact the other teams and see if they need you to help them with any traps?" Gibbs continued, getting back to business.

"Er, course Boss. I'll have to close this comm link... I'll come back to you once I'm done with the other teams?" The last part was said as a question and Gibbs couldn't help smiling. Tim had grown a lot since he had joined the team, but sometimes that young inexperienced agent still appeared. Gibbs smiled despite knowing Tim couldn't see him.

"I'll be waiting for a Sit Rep McGee." Gibbs said gently. The face on the screen turned up to look at the camera and Gibbs saw his smile reflected back at him.

After McGee gave the rescue crews access to the building's servers things moved quicker but still not quick enough for Gibbs. Unable to sit in the van any longer he had been helping shift the rubble entombing Tony and Ziva. Frustratingly he had to keep returning to the van to liaise with agency heads. This did give him the opportunity to check on McGee however, even if it was just a grainy monochrome image. McGee hadn't moved from his seat on the ground, his laptop was still on his lap but his head was resting against the wall behind him.

"McGee report!" He shouted, pleased when the figure jumped into attention and looked around.

"Wow Boss, you scared me." Tim gasped. "Er...teams two and three have finished clearing the building and are working on the surrounding area, nine explosive devices of varying magnitude found so far, bomb disposal are working their way through them." Gibbs could hear the exhaustion in Tim's voice and felt another small twinge in his gut. A quick glance around the other monitors confirmed Tim's report.

"Alright, get some rest. The cutting gear is here so as soon as Tony and Ziva are out they'll be coming for you next." McGee nodded but did not reply, his head tipped back again to rest against the wall.

"McGee?" he prompted.

"Sorry Boss, it's OK. The Bomb squad want me to check in regularly to help them. I guess it doesn't matter if the door is open or not, I'd still have to stay in here to co-ordinate things through the computers." Gibbs frowned, McGee still sounded a little out of breath, his gut churned as he watched his agent.

"Is there something you're not telling me Tim?" Gibbs asked, purposely using his given name.

"No Boss, it's just...just getting pretty hot in here."

"OK, hold tight, they'll be with you soon."

"Yes Boss."

Half an hour later a soft knock on the door signalled Ducky coming in for a break. The dispatcher had called the M.E. automatically, and he had been assisting with treating the injured on site.

"You can probably head back to the yard Duck." Gibbs said as his friend sat on the chair next to him. "I think things are finally under control here."

"Don't be foolish Jethro, you know I couldn't possibly leave while Anthony and Ziva are still buried."

"And McGee." Gibbs said tiredly.

"Of course, how is Timothy? Can he hear us?" Ducky turned to the bank of Monitors searching them for his young friend.

"No, he's been talking to the bomb disposal team. There Duck." Gibbs said pointing to the right screen before closing his eyes and rubbing his face with his hands. His muscles were aching and exhaustion was pulling on his shoulders. Only a little bit longer, he told himself, then you can relax, once everyone is out of that damn house.

"Jethro! How do I talk to Timothy on this thing?" The urgent tone of Ducky's voice brought Gibbs sharply round to stare at him.

"Why? What's wrong?" He demanded joining him in front of the monitors. McGee was still sat in the same position Gibbs had left him in, except now he didn't look like he was resting, his chest was heaving and his arms were spread and pressed against the floor.

"My God Jethro, are the team close to getting him out?" Ducky was gripping Gibbs' arm, his eyes flashing between him and the grey image on the monitor. Gibbs couldn't speak, even before Ducky continued he knew what was wrong, he knew what his gut had been telling him "Gibbs? Are they getting him out? He's suffocating!"

Tim was burning, sweat was pouring down his face and chest. He pushed his head back further trying to expand his chest and drag in a larger breath. He knew it was useless but he was losing control of his body. His world had reduced to the aching in his muscles. Dark spots were floating in front of his eyes and all he could hear was a loud buzzing. He stared up at the ceiling and tried to calm his pounding heart.

You made your decision, he told himself trying to calm the building panic, you knew what would happen. What would Gibbs say? Tim closed his eyes, Gibbs would be furious and would probably chew him out before never speaking to him again.

His thoughts started swimming. You're too ready to sacrifice yourself for others. He could hear his father's voice, a distant memory from the time Sarah had been in trouble at uni. Where does that come from Tim? His mother's voice now, she sounded sad.

Lifelong bullying maybe? I bet Kelly never got bullied. Where had that thought come from? Gibbs never talked about his daughter and Kelly never made it to high school.

"I'm...sorry... Boss." It hurt to speak those few words, painful gasps of air dragged into his chest and out. He'd withheld information. Of course he'd quickly realised that the room was air tight. A safety precaution if anyone broke in, not only would the trespassers die but the servers would quickly overheat and become lumps of useless plastic and metal.

But every time he'd spoken to Gibbs something stopped him from telling him. Tony and Ziva were in greater danger, he honestly hadn't thought it would take this long, that he would be saved before it became an issue. But at some point the threshold had passed and now it was too late.

Tim felt his muscles start to relax and the pain in his chest eased. That's not it Dad, he thought, I didn't want proof. I didn't want you to make the choice Boss, which one of us to save, which one of us was more important.

He was slipping away, his mind just running in a disconnected stream. Thankfully he had already stored the computer files in the mobile hard drives he had brought. If they didn't get too hot, all the evidence they needed to shut the organisation down was there. His last thought was of his desk at the yard, sitting behind his computer trying to ignore Tony and Ziva arguing, glancing up and catching his Boss's eye and smiling.

Gibbs was frozen watching his agent's body struggle for oxygen. Ducky had rushed out of the van and he could hear him in the distance trying to get someone to help him. Gibbs glanced way as someone bumped into the van door and when he looked back Tim wasn't moving anymore.

"What the hell are you doing?" He shouted at himself. He turned and jumped from the van, nearly knocking over Tony who was stood outside wrapped in a blanket flanked by paramedics. He stopped in surprise staring at his senior agent. Tony's face broke into a grin.

"Aww Boss, I told you we'd be OK didn't I?" He said, misunderstanding Gibbs's actions.

Gibbs just turned away and ran into the house vaguely aware of Tony calling out to him. He passed rescue teams and barking dogs and was suddenly at the large metal door sealing the server room. A rescue team was stood in front of it looking at him with confused faces. Gibbs ignored them. He needed to talk to Tim, to get into that room and shake his agent by the shoulders and demand to know why he had lied to him, to have Tim alive and talking, not gasping for air or lying so still. Gibbs pounded on the door with his fists.

"McGee!" He shouted, "You answer me McGee!" Hands pulled at his arms trying to stop him, Gibbs growled and turned to fight, but the explosion from above the door threw them all to the ground and gave Gibbs superficial burns to the side of his head and arm requiring a trip to the waiting EMTs.

At the elevator's ding Gibbs felt his heart clench in his chest. The trip back to NCIS headquarters had been silent. The team had had to wait another hour before the door to McGee's prison had been safely cut open, the paramedics had spent all of two minutes confirming that there was nothing they could do to help him. Now Gibbs was stepping out of the elevator onto the floor with Abby's lab. She bounced towards them the second she saw them.

Throwing her arms around Tony she smiled. "You guys! Why didn't you call to say you were coming back! Tell me all about the Booby Trap House! Did you bring me back loads of gadgets to play with, is McGee bringing them up? Tony? What's wrong, why are you looking at me like that?" Normally Abby's caffeine fuelled rants lifted Gibbs' spirits but all they did today was make him feel worse. For his shame he nearly turned and ran away.

"Abby, McGee's not coming back."

Authors note: There it is, I hope you liked it. The first draft actually had a scene where McGee and Gibbs have a long discussion as he is dying, where McGee explains why he lied. However, when I was writing the final version I made it so they couldn't talk to each other when they wanted to! Guess I wanted to isolate poor Tim and Gibbs. In that version Tim lived too! This version felt more realistic somehow. Anyhoo let me know what you think. Thanks for reading.


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